The term “m-commerce” is beginning to find meanings in wireless mobile communication environments that are analogous to “e-commerce” solutions. An increasing number of m-commerce solutions are emerging in which a wireless device may be used to transact certain commercial transactions, such as simple financial transactions like store couponing, credit card transactions, automated clearing house (ACH) funds transfer transactions used like a check with bank routing information, and the like.
The term “wireless device” herein means cellular, cordless, Personal Communication System (PCS), or other types of wireless telephone devices, pagers, wireless personal digital assistants, notebook computers with wireless access, or any other wireless device, two-way radios, walkie-talkies, or other type of communications transceiver, or mobile stations (MS), regardless of whether they have valid subscriber identification module (SIM) or UTMS subscriber identification module (USIM) identifiers. Wireless devices are becoming so widespread it is estimated there will be about 1.7 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide by 2007. In fact, recently, wireless devices with limited telephone capabilities have been made available for even grade-school level students.
At the same time, card-like devices, herein referred to simply as “cards,” are finding increasing use to make life easier for individuals and merchants in an increasingly mobile society. Cards come in many forms, such as those having a stripe of magnetic material formed on a plastic base or substrate, those having an embedded integrated circuit with memory capabilities, and the like. Examples of cards in widespread use include credit cards, debit cards, telephone cards, cash cards, and gift or general purchase cards, generally useful at a particular store and which are now sold in kiosks, grocery stores, and elsewhere for various other stores, such as hardware, electronics, florists, and so forth.
Because of the ease with which cards may be used, they are often preferred by merchants as a way to accept payment for services and merchandise. In some cases, cards may be preferred, in fact, even to receiving cash payments, for many reasons. Cards generally result in automatic payments directly into an account of the merchant without requiring the handling of cash and the attendant problems associated therewith. By using cards, merchants do not need to provide as high a security level as would be required if large amounts of cash were kept on the premises. The use of cards also increases the accuracy of record keeping, reduces change-making errors, and, with the present card infrastructures in place, reduces the time required to handle cash transactions. The use of cards also simplifies record keeping requirements for most commercial transactions.
In these environments, what is needed is an expansion of m-commerce applications using the card technologies and infrastructures, and more specifically, an expansion of m-commerce technologies to handle or replace cash and card transactions.